Politics
17 min read
Paedophile Stepdad Released Early, Sparking Outrage and Fear
Irish Mirror
January 21, 2026•1 day ago

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A man convicted of sexually abusing two stepdaughters, Michael Moloney, has been released early from prison due to standard remission. His victims expressed outrage and fear, stating they were not formally notified of his release. Moloney, who received a combined sentence of 13 years and six years for separate offenses, is now housed in Limerick. Victims fear for their safety and that of their children.
A stepdad from hell who sexually abused two little girls has been released early from prison - sparking the anger of his victims.
Paedophile Michael Moloney (46) from Bruff in Co Limerick was jailed in 2018 for 13 years for the systematic rape and abuse of his stepdaughter Jenni Prunty - and in 2022 was sentenced to a further six years for sexually abusing another stepdaughter- Chloe Shinnors - in a separate case.
However we have learned that the sicko, whose own paedophile father John (75) was also jailed in 2019 for indecent and sexual assault of two girls, walked free from the Midlands Prison just two weeks ago.
Sources say Michael Moloney, whose father walked free early in 2022, was a 'model prisoner' and due to standard remission was freed early - and is now being housed somewhere in Limerick, having presented as homeless to the local county council. It is understood that both pervert father and son have been seen enjoying each other's company in Limerick city, where they are being housed by homeless services.
Michael Moloney also served both of his sentences concurrently - despite the cases coming before the courts a number of years apart. And speaking exclusively to the Irish Mirror today, both victims of Moloney - Jenni Prunty and Chloe Shinnors - spoke of their outrage at not being formally made aware of his release - and of his early freedom. Brave survivor Jenni, who has since married and had children, said she was shocked to learn through the Irish Mirror of Moloney’s early release - and was left flabbergasted by it.
"I’m just shocked, I won’t lie. I am really, really shocked. I wasn’t formally told by anyone and to learn now that he’s just back out there and roaming free, I just don’t even have words for it," Jenni told us. "It’s very scary, I won’t lie. I often do go into Limerick with my children and now I fear that we could bump into him on any random day. It’s a very scary thing."
Jenni told how she had moved on with her life and was healing, and said she was ultimately glad to know of Moloney’s release - though it brought all of the horrific memories of what she had suffered back to the fore. "I don’t understand why with a crime so severe he was released early. Good behaviour or whatever means nothing. He took my childhood from me. I feel as if I have a life sentence so why shouldn’t he have one as well?" she said. "I’m back to square one now and I’m worried that I could randomly run into him one day. I fear for my own children’s safety."
The Irish Mirror reported how back in 2022, Moloney was punished behind bars for a letter that was sent to Jenni from prison. Moloney was punished by prison authorities over the creepy letter which told Jenni that he couldn’t wait to see her again. Now Jenni fears that the convicted rapist, who was ordered to stay away from her, clearly still wants to make contact, despite all that has happened. "That Easter card showed me that he hadn’t forgotten about me and that still scares me and creeps me out," she said. "He clearly doesn’t care about the law. He was told to never contact me again. Now that he’s free I’m really afraid that he can do whatever he likes."
Jenni said she was speaking to this paper to remind people of the pervert who abused her, and to have it known who he is. "I want people to know that he is just an outright animal and he’s the scum of the Earth. The fact that he can still hold his head high knowing what he’s after doing, says it all. I just hope that he never, ever contacts me again. I hope that he will never, ever come near me and my children. He’s a rapist and I just cannot understand how he can have his life and just go back now to doing whatever he wants. I just hope he’s the most miserable life. He doesn’t deserve any ounce of happiness and he doesn’t deserve compassion from anybody," she said.
Also speaking to the Irish Mirror, an enraged Chloe Shinnors, who was sexually abused by Moloney and only came forward to gardai after hearing of Jenni’s case, said: "The only thing I really want to say now is that I wasn’t contacted by the prison service or the guards about his release. It’s never going to feel like enough time and it's a bit disappointing that the system has allowed him to get out this early."
Moloney was charged with sexually assaulting Chloe when she was just a child, on three occasions. He raped and abused Jenni Prunty when she was aged between 10 and 17. He had pleaded not guilty to the rape charge - but pleaded guilty to eight sexual assaults - including two incidents of digital penetration against Jenni when she was just a child. Jenni went to her mother in November 2015 to finally tell her of the horrific abuse she endured, the worst of which was the rape, which occurred sometime between November 2009 and August 2010 at his home above a pub in Bruff.
The court heard how evil Moloney pulled down his underwear and began to put on the condom and "the next thing she knew" the accused was on top of her. Jenni described that she "just froze" while Moloney raped her for five gruelling minutes before he got up and left the room.
Unlike his son, however, vile perv John Maloney never admitted his guilt in abusing the two women who said their lives were forever changed when they were molested by him during their childhood.
But after hearing that Maloney admitted to gardaí he had a preference for the "young ones", a jury convicted him of the two counts of indecent assault and one count of sexual abuse in October 2018.
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